President Chen Shui-bian (
Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (
Lee made the remarks in response to a report published yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper), which said that incumbent Grand Justice Lai Ying-jaw (
As stipulated in the Constitution, eight of the grand justices, including the president and the vice president of the Judicial Yuan who were appointed in 2003, are to serve four years, while the rest are to serve eight years.
Judicial Yuan President Weng Yueh-sheng (
This is why the president has to put forward a list of eight nominees for grand justices to fill the vacancies.
Other incumbent grand justices -- Lai, Hsu Pi-hu (徐璧湖), Peng Feng-chih (彭鳳至), Lin Tze-yi (林子儀), Hsu Tsung-li (許宗力), Hsieh Tsai-chuan (謝在全) and Hsu Yu-hsiu (許玉秀) -- will see their terms of office expire in September 2011.
The post of vice president of the Judicial Yuan has been left vacant since last April after the resignation of Cheng Chung-mo (城仲模) amid allegations that he had relations with a female assistant professor at the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology.
Tseng Yuan-chuan (
Meanwhile, the People First Party (PFP), an ally of the KMT, responded positively to the idea of Lai serving as Judicial Yuan president.
Daniel Hwang (
"If Lai is nominated by the president, the PFP will exercise the right of confirmation after reviewing his qualifications," Hwang said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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